I cant grasp half life - the study guide question is how is half life dating used by scientists -
I have 2 lines to write an answer
Since this is not my area of expertise, I searched Google under the key words "'half life'" to get these possible sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-life
http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/isotopes/radioactive_decay3.html
In the future, you can find the information you desire more quickly, if you use appropriate key words to do your own search.
I hope this helps. Thanks for asking.
Half-life dating is a technique used by scientists to determine the age of a substance or artifact by measuring the rate at which it decays. The two lines to write an answer would be:
1. Scientists use half-life dating to calculate the age of materials that contain radioactive isotopes.
2. By measuring the time it takes for half of the radioactive isotopes to decay, scientists can estimate the age of the sample.
Explanation:
To understand the concept of half-life dating, it is crucial to know that certain isotopes are unstable and spontaneously decay over time, transforming into different elements. The rate at which this decay occurs is measured using the half-life, which is the time it takes for half of the radioactive isotopes in a sample to decay.
Scientists can use half-life dating to determine the age of a substance or artifact by comparing the ratio of the radioactive isotope to the stable isotope of the same element in the sample. By measuring the proportion of the isotopes and knowing the half-life, they can calculate the time it took for the isotopes to decay and therefore estimate the age of the sample.
For example, let's say a sample contains a radioactive isotope with a half-life of 100 years. If after 100 years, only half of the radioactive isotopes remain, then the sample is considered to be 100 years old. If only a quarter remains after 200 years, then the sample is 200 years old, and so on.
In summary, half-life dating is a valuable tool that scientists use to determine the age of materials containing radioactive isotopes by measuring the rate of decay and calculating the time it takes for half of the isotopes to decay.